UDS Ltd.

UDS Ltd. (UDS株式会社) is a Japanese urban development and real-estate company headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo. It was founded in 1992 as Yugen Kaisha Urban Design System (有限会社都市デザインシステム) by Fumio Kajiwara, who had studied architecture and worked at a real-estate developer before starting his own business. The company's stated purpose is to enrich and enliven cities through 'design' and 'systems' that combine business viability with social value. Its corporate slogan is 'town-making that excites the world' (世界がワクワクするまちづくり). UDS is unusual in that it covers the entire value chain of a project: business planning, architectural design, construction and operation. Its official website describes this as a 'trinity' of planning, design and operation, and it organizes its work through specialized internal teams such as SDU (System Design Unit), su+, QBLE, COMPATH, Project Design, Hotel, and Relax Design. The company operates in Japan and overseas, with hotel projects in China as well as Japan. Historically, UDS began with co-operative housing (コーポラティブハウス), a form of collectively developed housing, and handled more than 100 such projects in Japan. It later moved into renovation and conversion of old buildings into hotels, opening CLASKA in Meguro, Tokyo in 2003, which is often described as a pioneer of Japanese design hotels. It went on to develop Hotel Kanra Kyoto, Hotel Anteroom Kyoto, MUJI HOTEL GINZA with Ryohin Keikaku, and a series of ONSEN RYOKAN 由縁 properties, HAMACHO HOTEL, HOTEL EDIT YOKOHAMA, and hotels in Okinawa. It also operates restaurants, cafés, chocolate shops, co-working spaces and student dining facilities. The company has had a turbulent ownership history. After the original Urban Design System filed for civil rehabilitation in 2008 with liabilities of about 20.3 billion yen, a new company backed by Kokuyo Co., Ltd. was established in 2009 and took over the business. It was renamed UDS Co., Ltd. in 2012. Odakyu Electric Railway acquired 90% of the shares in 2015, making UDS part of the Odakyu Group. On 1 April 2024, Odakyu transferred its shares to Nomura Real Estate Holdings, Inc., and UDS became a subsidiary of the Nomura Real Estate Group, leaving the Odakyu Group. Today UDS continues to position itself as a company that proposes 'new options' for society from the end-user's perspective, combining design quality, business profitability and social contribution. Its projects range from hotels and restaurants to commercial complexes, public facilities and workplace interiors.

UDS Ltd. traces its origins to June 1992, when Fumio Kajiwara founded Yugen Kaisha Urban Design System (有限会社都市デザインシステム). Kajiwara had been interested since high school in contributing to society, initially considering medicine to help children in Africa, but was inspired by an entrepreneur who ran businesses to fund philanthropy. He studied architecture while at university, worked for a real-estate developer for three years, and then started his own company. The name 'Urban Design System' expressed the idea of enriching cities through both 'design' and 'systems' that make business and social value compatible. The company's first business was co-operative housing (コーポラティブハウス), a system in which multiple people jointly purchase land, design and manage their homes. Although many said it would be difficult to realize in Japan, UDS built the financing and insurance mechanisms to make it work, and over about ten years handled more than 100 co-operative housing and co-operative village projects in Japan. In September 1994 the company was reorganized as Kabushiki Kaisha Urban Design System (株式会社都市デザインシステム). In the 2000s UDS shifted toward renovation and conversion of old buildings. In September 2003 it opened HOTEL CLASKA in Meguro, Tokyo, renovating an aging hotel; it is often called a pioneer of Japanese design hotels. It continued with projects such as Hotel Kanra Kyoto and Hotel Anteroom Kyoto, converting old buildings into hotels. It also participated as lead shareholder in the KidZania Tokyo project, designing the townscape and pavilions and coordinating stakeholders using its co-operative housing know-how. In August 2008 the original Urban Design System filed for civil rehabilitation at the Tokyo District Court with liabilities of about 20.3 billion yen. In February 2009 a new company, Kabushiki Kaisha Urban Design System, was established with Kokuyo Co., Ltd. as 100% parent, and in March 2009 it acquired the business rights. In 2010 it opened the 'Relax Dining' employee and student cafeterias. In April 2012 the company changed its name to UDS Co., Ltd. In February 2013 it opened the co-working space 'LEAGUE'. In February 2015 Odakyu Electric Railway acquired 90% of UDS's shares, making it part of the Odakyu Group, and the hostel 'ON THE MARKS' opened in front of Kawasaki Station. In 2016 and 2017 UDS launched 'Kyoto Taberu Tsushin' and 'Shiga Taberu Tsushin'. In April 2018 it opened the mixed-use 'Jimbocho Book Center with Iwanami Books' on the former site of the Iwanami Book Center in Jimbocho. In April 2019 it opened MUJI HOTEL GINZA in Ginza with Ryohin Keikaku. In September 2020 it opened 'Onsen Ryokan Yuen Bettei Daita' in the Shimokita Senrogai area created by the undergrounding of the Odakyu Odawara Line tracks, and in December 2020 it opened 'SHIMOKITA COLLEGE', a residential education facility combining living and learning. In 2021, during the Odakyu Group era, it handled planning, basic design and design supervision for the Romancecar Museum and initially operated the facility. On 1 April 2024, Odakyu Electric Railway transferred its shares to Nomura Real Estate Holdings, Inc., and UDS became a subsidiary of Nomura Real Estate Holdings, leaving the Odakyu Group. As of the mid-2020s UDS continues to operate hotels, restaurants, commercial and public facilities, and to develop new products and media, including the UDS HOTELS media 'ON THE WAY' and the 'TETSUORI' product series using domestic iron by-products.

• Founded as Yugen Kaisha Urban Design System (有限会社都市デザインシステム) by Fumio Kajiwara.

• Reorganized as Kabushiki Kaisha Urban Design System (株式会社都市デザインシステム).

• Opened HOTEL CLASKA in Meguro, Tokyo, a renovated design hotel.

• Filed for civil rehabilitation at the Tokyo District Court with liabilities of about 20.3 billion yen.

• New company established with Kokuyo Co., Ltd. as 100% parent; business rights acquired in March.

• Opened 'Relax Dining' employee and student cafeterias.

• Changed company name to UDS Co., Ltd.

• Opened co-working space 'LEAGUE'.

• Odakyu Electric Railway acquired 90% of shares; hostel 'ON THE MARKS' opened in front of Kawasaki Station.

• Launched 'Kyoto Taberu Tsushin'.

• Launched 'Shiga Taberu Tsushin'.

• Opened 'Jimbocho Book Center with Iwanami Books' in Jimbocho, Tokyo.

• Opened MUJI HOTEL GINZA in Ginza with Ryohin Keikaku.

• Opened 'Onsen Ryokan Yuen Bettei Daita' in Shimokita Senrogai.

• Opened 'SHIMOKITA COLLEGE', a residential education facility.

• Odakyu Electric Railway transferred shares to Nomura Real Estate Holdings; UDS became a subsidiary of Nomura Real Estate Holdings.

A total urban development company that integrates planning, design, construction and operation, pursuing a balance of design quality, business viability and social contribution.

• CLASKA

  Design hotel in Meguro, Tokyo, opened in 2003 in a renovated building; described as a pioneer of Japanese design hotels.

• MUJI HOTEL GINZA

  Hotel in Ginza, Tokyo, opened in April 2019 with Ryohin Keikaku.

• HOTEL KANRA KYOTO

  Hotel in Kyoto, a renovation/conversion project.

• HOTEL ANTEROOM KYOTO

  Hotel in Kyoto, a renovation/conversion project.

• ONSEN RYOKAN 由縁 新宿

  Onsen ryokan in Shinjuku, Tokyo.

• HAMACHO HOTEL

  Hotel in Chuo, Tokyo.

• HOTEL EDIT YOKOHAMA

  Hotel in Yokohama, Kanagawa.

• BUNKA HOSTEL TOKYO

  Hostel in Taito, Tokyo.

• ON THE MARKS Kawasaki

  Hostel in front of Kawasaki Station, opened in 2015.

• SHIMOKITA COLLEGE

  Residential education facility combining living and learning, opened in December 2020.

• 神保町ブックセンター with Iwanami Books

  Mixed-use facility opened in April 2018 on the former site of the Iwanami Book Center in Jimbocho.

• nel CRAFT CHOCOLATE TOKYO

  Craft chocolate shop in Chuo, Tokyo.

• リラックス食堂

  Employee and student cafeterias opened in 2010.

• LEAGUE

  Co-working space opened in February 2013.

• TETSUORI

  Product series using domestic iron by-products, sales started in 2026.

1. 1UDS株式会社 – 世界がワクワクするまちづくりuds-net.co.jp
2. 2UDS Story 創業ストーリー | ブログ | UDS株式会社uds-net.co.jp
3. 3About us UDSが目指すもの | ブログ | UDS株式会社uds-net.co.jp
4. 4メッセージ | UDS株式会社uds-net.co.jp
5. 5UDS (企業) - Wikipediaja.wikipedia.org
6. 6UDS - Wikidatawikidata.org